FAE: The Holiday Collection
by Oliviet
Summary: "Who gets to determine when the old ends, and the new begins? It's not a day on a calendar, not a birthday, not a new year. It's an event. Big or small. Something that changes us. Ideally, it gives us hope." - Meredith Grey. A collection of Holiday One Shots set in my Flashbacks and Echoes universe.
1. Kate's Birthday

AN: I plan to update this throughout the year on various important holidays. I wasn't quite ready for a full out sequel, so this, sparked by a conversation with Raina so let's all thank her, is the result. Oh and Evan? Remember to breathe.

* * *

When she wakes, he isn't there in bed beside her. She cranes her neck on the pillow to glance at the clock. It's only 8:15 and he managed to get up before her? Something isn't right here. In the five months they'd been living together since their engagement eight months ago, he had never woken up before her. They've always been opposites in that respect. He's the night owl and she's the morning bird.

Kate sits up and tosses back the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She pads out into the living room, wrapping her arms around herself. November is getting colder and colder and it's time to turn the heat up another notch on the thermostat. She moves to do that first, temporarily abandoning her search for her fiancé. She hears the furnace whir to life at the same time she feels two arms wrap around her torso from behind.

"How long have you been up?" she asks, sinking back against him. "It's before 10 on a Saturday. You feeling okay?"

"You were supposed to stay in bed for at least another 15 minutes," Rick grumbles into her ear. "It's very difficult to bring you your birthday breakfast in bed if you're not in it."

A smile tugs at her lips as she draws him in closer. "I can get back in it. As long as you're not forcing me to eat those stupid s'morelettes again."

She feels the warmth of his breath whoosh past her ear with his sigh. "It's your birthday, Kate. I know better."

She grins at that and spins in his grip to press a kiss to his lips.

"Happy Birthday, by the way," he says, keeping her close to him. "Ready for me to make up for all of the ones that I missed?"

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to be excessive?" Kate asks, poking him in the chest. If there's one thing she knows he inherited from his mother, it's his need for dramatic flair.

He nudges her back in the direction of their bedroom. "Just go back to bed so I can bring you your pancakes."

"This whole breakfast thing counts as one missed birthday, right?" she calls over her shoulder as she goes. "Because Rick, I really don't need -"

"I know what you need," he cuts her off, walking up behind her with a tray of food. "And I know what you want. Trust me on this one, Kate. I'm good at birthdays remember?"

She hums, sliding back under the covers and allowing him to place the tray across her lap.

"You go big for every holiday," she sighs, shaking her head. "Especially birthdays and Christmas."

"I like giving presents," Rick shrugs, slipping back into bed with her. "It's more fun now that I can actually afford things too."

"I don't need expensive things from you. The things you gave me when we were kids were just perfect," Kate tells him, cutting into her pancakes. "Are you just going to sit there and watch me eat?"

"I already ate," he confesses sheepishly, watching her enjoy her first couple of bites. "It smelled too good so I ate the first batch. But honestly, those stupid little trinkets I gave you, you actually liked them?"

"I still have them," she says, smiling around her fork. "I'll show you after I finish eating."

"You kept them? _All_ of them?"

She laughs, nearly spilling her coffee with the force of it. "There's only eight of them. Sometimes I think you forget how long we've been together."

"But still -"

"You were a big part of my life, Rick. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again and I wanted to remember...all of it."

They fall into a comfortable silence as she continues eating. She still thinks about how lucky she is to have ended up back with her high school sweetheart, back with the guy who's been her best friend since she was ten years old. Especially when she thinks about how she created this secret stash of his trinkets after their breakup because she knew she would never want to forget. And she loves that now she never has to forget him.

"It's funny how fate works out, huh?" Rick asks, knowing what she's thinking. "We didn't know if we'd see each other again and now we're engaged and living together."

She takes another bite of pancake, chasing it down with another swallow of coffee.

"I've thanked fate before but I'll thank it again," she says, nudging him with her elbow.

He smiles at her, pushing himself up off of the bed. "Okay, I don't know if I can wait for you to finish eating to see these things. Where are they?" He pulls open the closet doors, let's his eyes roam over the shoe boxes. "Are they in one of those, or do they all actually contain shoes?"

She hums, swallowing the bite in her mouth. "It should be the one on the far right. The box from my old Chuck Taylor's."

He laughs at that, reaching for the box. "Do you still have those ratty old things? I miss them."

"They weren't ratty when I bought them at 13," Kate says defensively. "And no, I threw them out. One mud puddle too many."

"Well I'm honored that my trinkets took up residence in their shoe box. I know how much you loved those shoes."

"I just hadn't discovered boots yet," she laughs, finishing up the last of her pancakes and placing the tray on the floor. She cradles the still warm coffee mug into her chest and scoots closer to Rick on the bed as he opens the lid. The scarf he gave her for her 18th is sitting right on top and she pulls it out and wraps it around her neck. She half expects the scent of her favorite perfume from high school to be lingering on it, but the fabric smells more musty than anything else.

"We have to go in backwards chronological order now," Rick says, rummaging around for her 17th birthday gift. He pulls out the ring with her birthstone, a topaz, set in it. "I still can't believe I gave you a promise ring."

"Why?" she asks taking it out of his hand and sliding it on next to her engagement ring. "We're actually getting married. There may have been some hiccups in the middle, but we're keeping the promise we made at 17."

"And it's such a cheap ring too," he says shaking his head. "Didn't it turn your finger green that summer?"

"I told you," she starts, reaching over to kiss his cheek. "I don't need expensive."

He gives her a little half smile before pulling out the lucky purple rabbit foot keychain he gave her when she turned 16. Little did he know at the time that it would end up on the key ring to her Harley instead of one belonging to a car.

"I should put this back with the keys to my bike," Kate laughs. "They've been boring and naked looking ever since I took it off."

"Why'd you take it off in the first place?"

"I was trying to get over you," she says softly, running her index finger across the faux fur. "Didn't need the constant reminder of what I'd lost."

He turns and places a kiss to her temple before plunging his hand back into the box. His hands wrap around the book he gave her for her 15th. The spine is even more worn down than he remembers it being when he last saw it.

"Did you still read this every November?" he asks, holding it up to her.

"I missed a few years, but yeah pretty much. I guess sometimes I needed more than your own books to tether me. It definitely goes against my whole trying to get over you method, but I've told you how I used your books to get me through my mother's death. This was just another book, another tradition, that helped."

"Kate-"

She puts her coffee mug down on the bedside table, and cups his face in her hands. "I know, babe. I know."

Rick turns his head to kiss the inside of her palm before she drops her hands away and digs out the charm bracelet he bought for her 14th.

"That was the first present I actually ever bought by myself for someone. I remember being pretty damn proud of it."

She laughs, rubbing her thumb over the four-leaf clover charm. "I always loved the sound the charms made when they bounced together as I moved my wrist."

"Oh I remember that. I used to catch you twisting your wrist back and forth just to hear them jingle. It was even more entertaining when our history teacher caught you doing it in class."

Kate nudges him with her shoulder and watches him dig back into the box to pull out the gift from her 13th. It's a rock shaped like a heart he'd found out on the beach in Long Island the summer before.

"I was so embarrassed to give you this," Rick recalls, rubbing the smooth stone between his fingers. "I didn't have money to actually get you something worthwhile, so didn't I tape this to your favorite candy bar or something?"

She nods. "Sorry, I threw away the wrapper after I ate it. But I love this rock. We didn't know what love was at 13, but I like to pretend that this birthday was the first time you ever tried to tell me that you loved me. It sat on my desk for years. Even came with me to college."

"You're such a sap," he laughs, dropping the rock into her outstretched hand.

"You're worse than I am, writer boy. Go reread your dedication for Nikki Heat."

"If you thought the first one was bad," Rick laughs. "Wait until you read what I have planned for book two."

She rolls her eyes and pulls out the tiny pot that once held a flower in it back when she was 12. She kept it alive as long as she could, but like most flowers, it didn't last. She's not entirely sure what made her keep the empty pot after the flower had died. Maybe she had intended to plant something new. But to be honest it had been tossed somewhere forgotten, and she hadn't found it until she was packing for college. The memories associated with it had instantly moved it into her keep pile and now she's happy to say that she still has it.

Rick reaches in after her and pulls out the oversized bouncy ball from her 11th. The first present he'd ever given her, and the one they probably got the most use out of as kids.

"Do you remember what our bounce and catch record was on this thing?" he asks, twirling the purple, blue, and white rubber between his fingers. "Did we ever hit 100?"

"I think we came close a few times, but I don't ever remember actually getting there."

"I do recall a couple of times of us just getting bored with it and me trying to put the game on pause, saying okay we haven't dropped it so next time we can pick right back up at 50 or wherever and you wouldn't let me."

She shrugs, starting to pile the items back into the box. "My parents were lawyers what do you expect?"

"That didn't stop you from breaking so many of their rules later in life," he accuses with a smirk.

"Yeah, but at 11 I was still a good kid."

"So what happened?" he asks, bouncing the ball off of the side of their dresser.

"We've been through this," she returns with an eye roll. " _You_ happened."

"Me? You can't blame me. We were friends throughout this supposed 'good kid' phase of yours. I blame puberty."

She shakes her head, unwrapping the scarf from around her neck and slipping the promise ring back off of her finger. She puts them back in the shoebox too and reaches for the lid.

"Well anyway," Rick starts, taking the box from her and putting it back up in its place in the closet. "I can't believe you kept all of that."

"You trying to say that you didn't keep anything I gave you?"

"Not what I'm saying at all," he says, joining her on the bed once again. "It's just... an empty flower pot? A rock? You're not exactly the pack rat type, Kate."

"I told you," she starts, fiddling with her engagement ring. "I just wanted to remember everything. And the years I spent with you - they're my best memories."

Rick tugs on her hand so he can lace their fingers together. "They're mine too. And may we have many more years of those memories to come."

* * *

"Rick, where are you taking me?" Kate asks as she trails behind him down the Manhattan sidewalk. "You've done enough for me already today and it's getting even colder out as the sun sets."

"Hang on, we're almost there," he tells her, slowing down his pace so she catches up to him, and slipping his arm through hers when she gets to his side.

Her head falls to his shoulder as they reach a red and white striped storefront.

"Chelsea's?" she asks, reading the sign. "More food? I'm already stuffed."

"It's dessert," he tells her, nudging her forward. "Trust me on this, okay? And it's the last surprise, I promise."

The small bakery is quiet inside with only a few patrons scattered around the shop. She's surprised that the bakery is even open this late when most pride themselves on opening at the crack of dawn. The woman at the counter recognizes Rick and nods to him when she sees him before disappearing into the back.

"What did you do?" Kate asks, finally separating from his side to investigate the treats sitting in the display.

"As you know, the wedding is six months out, and I figured what day is better to try out a bunch of cakes than a birthday?"

She looks back over at him from over her shoulder. "We're doing our cake testing? Tonight?"

"We don't have to get it from here if we can't agree on one, but this place comes highly recommended by Alexis."

She smiles and curls back into his side. "Look at that. You found a way to make my birthday about both of us."

He laughs as the woman from the counter wheels out a cart with their cake samples. "I think you already did that earlier when we looked through that box of mementos."

Kate just shakes her head and moves to pick up a fork. "Okay, which one are we trying first?"

"What happened to being stuffed?" Rick teases, joining her on the other side of the cart. "But I think that white chocolate raspberry looks like a winner."

"Always room for cake," she smirks, digging into the cake of his suggestion. She pauses, a look of confusion passing across her face. "Why is this piece so hard?"

"Okay, so call it a two part final surprise."

She narrows her eyes at him before ditching to the fork to dig into the pastry with her fingers. She pulls out a jewelry box and shoots him another look.

"I missed my chance to propose with cake," Rick says, laughing at her facial expression. "Just open it."

She does, pulling out a gold and diamond bracelet with the word "always" engraved on the inside.

"Rick," she breathes.

"I know 'always' was sort of an inside joke to us when we were kids, but now I figured it meant a lot more."

Kate slips it onto her wrist, admiring the way the jewels catch the light. "It's beautiful. I love it." She moves to join him on his side of the cart and wraps him up in her arms. "Thank you. For the bracelet. For today. For everything."

He kisses the top of her head and squeezes her back. "Happy Birthday, Kate. And here's to many more with me by your side."

"There you go again, making it all about you," she laughs, shoving at him lightly as she pulls away. "Prepare for payback on your birthday."

"I'll hold you to it," he says, picking up a fork and scooping up the remnants of the white chocolate raspberry. "Now try this cake. I already think it's the perfect one."


	2. Thanksgiving

He watches her come in with the cold, November rain, shaking out her umbrella in the entry way and shrugging out of her coat. The forecast has it predicted to turn to snow in a few hours, leaving them with a white-blanketed Thanksgiving tomorrow. She cradles a small box into her chest as she pulls her rain boots off one by one. He'd thought she'd be home from work an hour ago and finds himself wondering if the contents of that box are the culprit.

"Watcha got there?" Rick asks from his spot in one of the overstuffed chairs in the living room.

Her gaze lifts at the sound of his voice as she finger combs through the wet ends of her hair. He can hear the wind howling from in here, and by the looks of it, her umbrella wasn't much help.

"Mom's recipe box," Kate says, glancing down at it briefly. "My dad called, said I should have it for tomorrow."

"Something in particular he wants you to make?"

She sighs, carrying it with her over to the couch. "He didn't say. I think it's just because we haven't really had a _real_ Thanksgiving since she died, you know? I usually just end up working. But this year -"

"I offered to cook all of it," he interjects. "Allow you to have your traditional holiday day at work, but someone insisted on helping me."

"There's too much for you to do all on your own," Kate protests, pulling the throw blanket draped over the back of the couch into her lap.

"Oh yes such a crowd to cook for," he smirks. "One parent each, the two of us, and a teenager."

"And I can't risk you experimenting with strange foods again," she keeps talking like he hadn't said anything.

"The truth comes out," Rick says, holding a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "You just want to babysit me."

"I don't want marshmallows in my mashed potatoes. So sue me."

"Maybe I will. I happen to know of a lawyer joining us for dinner tomorrow night."

"Get your own lawyer," she scoffs. "I have dibs on this one."

He wishes he had a pillow to throw at her playfully, but the closest one to him is currently nestled under her elbow.

"So what sort of recipes are in that thing?" he asks, nodding at the box.

She skims her fingers over the gold and red striped lid. "All of her best dishes."

His eyes widen. "Kate. Are her cookie recipes in there? Like the double chocolate peppermint one? I crave those things every Christmas."

She lifts the lid, running her index finger over the row of cards. "It should be."

"Oh man, this is so exciting! I haven't had those since -" He stops midsentence, taking note of the potentially dangerous territory he may have just entered into.

"Neither have I," she replies without looking up.

He knows how hard the holidays are for her. Knows that Thanksgiving is only the tip of the emotional iceberg. Knows that's why she chooses to work holidays instead of celebrate them without the person she misses most. He watches her pull out a card at random and watches as her eyes start to fill with tears. Instinctively, he moves to join her on the couch.

"This is ridiculous," she says, attempting a laugh as she wipes at her eyes. "I'm getting emotional over her handwriting."

"Well it's not like it's something you see every day," Rick tries, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

Kate leans into his side, holding the card up for him to see. "Her lasagna. A favorite of yours if I'm remembering correctly."

He grins, taking the card from her and glancing at the ingredients. "Ooo yes. I loved Italian Night at the Beckett house."

"I'd forgotten just how often you used to eat with us."

"Well you've met my mother," he starts, sifting through the cards to try and find the cookie recipe. "She shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a stove. There's a reason I learned how to cook, after all. And it wasn't just so I could feed my kid."

She laughs, tucking the lasagna card back among the others. "Martha means well."

"Oh yes. I'm well aware." Rick keeps flipping through the stack until he finds the cookie card he was searching for. "Aha! Am I allowed to make these?"

Kate stretches up to kiss his cheek. "She'd want you to. I'm sure of it."

* * *

"You two have certainly outdone yourselves," Martha whistles as she takes in the spread of food on the dining room table. "Are you sure you only cooked for five?"

"I was using my mother's recipe cards," Kate explains as she brings the green bean casserole to the table. "She was used to cooking for extended family at the holidays and I wasn't sure if halving them would make enough. I hope everyone likes leftovers."

"I will gladly take leftovers, Katie," Jim says, sliding out a chair at the table. "No one ever cooks for me anymore."

"I've told you that you're welcome to come eat dinner with us dozens of times, Dad."

"Yes, but you end up working such odd hours, I wouldn't know when to be here."

Kate rolls her eyes at him before stepping back into the kitchen to retrieve her wine glass.

"So, what's everyone thankful for this year?" Alexis asks, taking a seat at the table. "Besides the obvious answers."

"The laundry room," Rick shrugs, reaching to take his wine glass from Kate. She smacks his shoulder with her free hand.

"Richard, honestly," Martha says, shaking her head.

"But it's where I was reunited with Kate," he protests.

"Thank fate for that," his mother tells him. "Thanking the laundry room just sounds ridiculous."

Alexis laughs, unfurling the cloth napkin across her lap.

"I'd like to thank fate too," Jim says. "I have an excuse not to visit Aunt Theresa on the holidays anymore."

"Dad," Kate groans.

"That woman is incorrigible. And she's never liked me. Plus she's the nosiest person I've ever met. She was already complaining about how hot it's going to be at your wedding and why couldn't you have a nice April wedding, and then I just stopped listening. You had the right idea all these years, telling them murder doesn't stop for the holidays. It got you out of a lot of uncomfortable dinners."

"Ladies and gentlemen, my father," Kate sighs, shaking her head.

"I've got to say, Jim," Rick starts. "I never thought I'd see the day when you would be thankful for me."

"Yeah well it's hard for me to be a huge fan when I catch you sneaking out of my teenage daughter's room in the middle of the night."

"Dad!" Alexis exclaims, her eyes wide.

"Do me favor, don't give her any ideas," Rick groans.

"Oh don't worry. You weren't the only one who caught them," Martha says, shooting Kate a knowing look.

"Okay, new topic," Kate says, feeling her face flush red.

"What about you, Alexis? What are you thankful for this year?" Rick asks.

"Honestly? The four of you. And I know I said no obvious answers, but having Kate and Jim with us...it's a new tradition I'm becoming quite fond of."

Kate leans in closer to Rick, overdramatizing her whisper. "Oh good, she hasn't caught onto my evil stepmother bit yet."

"Oh right. Your plan to off me, steal my fortune, and ship her off to boarding school?" Rick asks, playing along.

"I think you guys have been hanging around Gram too often," Alexis groans, rolling her eyes.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Martha asks, taking offence.

"Nothing! Just that you have a tendency to be overdramatic."

Rick nudges Kate with his elbow as his mother and daughter start arguing while Jim starts to load his plate up with food.

"Glad you took off work for this?" he asks.

She smiles, nodding. "Yeah. I really am."

* * *

Rick helps Kate clear the table while Alexis and Martha pester Jim about his insistence to watch football.

"Well I think that was pretty perfect," Rick says, carrying the remnants of the turkey into the kitchen. "Well done, the future Mrs. Castle. Even if you wouldn't let me put marshmallows in the potatoes."

She picks up one of the marshmallows left on his plate and chucks it at him. "They were for the yams."

"I have an eclectic taste," he laughs.

"More like a disgusting one."

He steps behind her at the sink, wrapping his arms around her torso. "I also have a taste for you," he whispers into her ear.

"What a line," she laughs, elbowing him in the side.

"Oh you like it, don't even try to deny it."

"Apparently I do. Why else would I agree to marry you, setting myself up for a lifetime of lines like that?"

"Oh wow, really feeling the love here, Kate."

She laughs again, turning her head to kiss his cheek. "Happy Thanksgiving, babe. I promise I'm thankful for you most of all."


	3. Christmas

AN: I think I've failed to mention this before, but each holiday won't take place within the same year. Just an FYI before people get confused that they're married this chapter when they've only been engaged previously. Enjoy!

* * *

"Honestly, Rick, where are you taking me?" Kate grumbles from behind her blindfold as her husband leads her to some unknown location in the city. The chill from the wind goes right through her and she wishes she could pull the stupid blindfold down just to cover her nose for warmth.

"I've already told you," he starts, tugging on her arm. "To see one of your Christmas presents."

She shouldn't be surprised, she knows that. She knows he goes all out for the holidays and that Christmas is his absolute favorite. But why can't he keep his surprises inside in December like a normal person?

"What'd you do, buy me a building? Commemorate a statue after me?"

She just knows that stupid, adorable grin of his is splitting across his face right now. She doesn't need her vision to know that

"You'll see when we get there," Rick teases, tugging her around a corner.

"See now that doesn't bode well for me."

"It bodes excellently for you. I don't know what you're talking about."

She huffs, tightening her grip on his arm when her boot hits a slippery spot on the sidewalk.

"If you're not going to let me see where we're going, you could at least check the ground for ice for me so I don't break something before we get there."

And he doesn't need to see her eyes to know that statement was accompanied by an eye roll.

"Ah come on, Kate. All those years going ice skating with your mom; you'd think you'd be more coordinated on the ice than that."

"Yeah, when I can see where I'm going. Are people looking at us like we're crazy? Do they think you're abducting me and just doing nothing about it? I bet the police are on their way."

"You are the police."

Kate huffs. "Yeah, but they don't know that."

"The police don't know that you're the police? Amazing how they just keep letting you into crime scenes then."

"I'm going to hurt you when I can see again," she mutters, squeezing his arm again for good measure.

"You'll change your mind once you see what I have cooked up for you."

"You cooked me something? The world's largest pizza? A record setting milkshake?"

"You're never going to guess what it is so stop trying. You're also just failing miserably."

"You know what? I'm just going to take all of your presents back. Say goodbye to your new laser tag gear. Apologize to Alexis for me. Explain how it was all your fault."

He chuckles, slipping his arm through hers and pulling them to a stop. A crosswalk perhaps? Or are they actually there?

"You still hate surprises as much as you did when you were 10."

"Is this about that stupid haunted house you dragged me to where you kept making fun of me for _hating_ people jumping out at me?" Kate accuses.

"We were 13 and no. It was just a general statement." He gives her a little nudge and pulls her forward again. "You've chosen an interesting profession for someone who hates sneak attacks."

"I've gotten over it."

"Have you now? I may have to test this out later."

"That's it, I want a divorce."

"Relax," he says, bringing them to a stop again. "We're here."

He moves from her side and she instinctively tenses up without her tether. But then she feels him behind her, untying the knot of the blindfold. Soon the fabric falls away and she has to blink a couple of times for her eyes to readjust. She looks around at her surroundings, trying to figure out what exactly her present is supposed to be.

"You got me an ice skating rink?" Kate asks jokingly.

"Good work, Detective."

She blanches, turning wide eyes to look at him. "Wait, seriously?"

He nods, a grin spreading across his face. "I built it myself. A guy in the Parks Department owed me a favor so he let me set it up here since we don't actually have a yard to put it in. We have to let other people use it after today, but for today it's all ours."

"You got me an ice skating rink," she repeats, still dumbfounded.

Rick laughs, nudging her toward the bench where two pairs of skates are resting next to some burly man who looks like a security guard.

"Afternoon, Thomas," he says, nodding to the man. He really did hire security. She honestly shouldn't be surprised. How else would they keep people away from their private rink?

"You couldn't just buy out a premade rink for the day?" she asks, sitting down to change into the skates.

"Now where's the romance in that?" Rick asks with a wink. "Still want that divorce?"

"I didn't sign a pre-nup, so I get half of everything, right?"

He narrows his eyes at her. "You know, we can leave."

"No, no, no," she says in a rush, tugging on his arm and pulling him down to the bench with her. "I love it, Babe, I really do. It's like we're including my mom in our festivities and I really appreciate that."

Rick places a kiss to the top of her head. "I know this time of year is always rough for you. I just wanted to help make it a little brighter."

"You make everything brighter, Rick. That's what I love about you."

* * *

He loves watching her out on the ice. She looks so free gliding around the small rink, it makes his heart soar. And she's a natural at it, a regular Michelle Kwan - okay perhaps that's taking it too far, but she _is_ skating circles around him. Literally.

"You just gonna stand there all day and watch, Rick? Or are you actually going to join me?" Kate taunts.

"Hey, I'm out on the ice. This is me joining you."

She skates up to his side and stops with such ease. He'd probably skate right off the rink if he tried to stop. Which is exactly why he hasn't started.

"Come on, I'll hold your hand," she offers, extending her gloved hand out to him.

"But -" he starts to protest.

"I'm not going to let you fall."

He still hesitates, watching as that gentle smile of hers blossoms across her face.

"You know you can trust me," she tries again.

That much he does know, so he takes her hand and let's her pull him slowly across the ice. He stumbles through his first couple of steps, but she stays true to her word and doesn't let him fall. She offers to let go when he starts to get the hang of it.

"Don't you dare," Rick tells her, squeezing her hand even tighter.

She laughs, skating around in front of him and cupping his face in her hands.

"I'm not letting you lead me around by my face."

Kate laughs again and leans in to kiss him. Her cold nose bumps against his, but her warm fuzzy gloves feel quite nice on his freezing cheeks. He attempts to pull her closer, seeking her body heat to warm him up even more. But he catches her off guard and she slips, pushing into him and taking them both tumbling onto the ice.

She bursts out laughing and he swears it's his most favorite sound. Her hair tumbles in front of her face, spilling out from underneath her hat. And he's so very tempted to keep her down here and resume that kiss she started. That is until he starts to feel the biting cold of the ice through his jeans.

"How are you laughing at a time like this?" he asks, rubbing at his hip. "I'm in pain."

She keeps laughing as she pushes herself to her feet and brushes off her jeans before extending a hand to help him up.

"Come on, Grandpa."

"Watch it, we're the same age," he grumbles, letting her help him. "Grandpa also implies that Alexis had a child and I do not like that one bit."

She brushes ice from his shoulders and straightens his scarf the same way she normally does when he wears a tie. "What if I was the one having the child?"

"Well then I'd be a father, but I already am one so - wait." He grows very still, trying to get her to make eye contact with him instead of his scarf. "Kate?"

Her eyes lift to meet his, that smile of hers tugging at the corners of her lips. "I was going to tell you tomorrow, on Christmas. I had it all planned out and everything, but as long as we're giving gifts on Christmas Eve -"

"You're pregnant?"

She nods as her smile breaks and Rick wraps her up in a hug that nearly knocks them back down to the ice.

"And here I thought this ice skating rink was the best present ever," he laughs. "But I was so wrong. _This_ is the best present ever. You most certainly have me beat this year, Kate."

"You know, I think I'm actually starting to like this time of year again," she says, going back to fidgeting with his scarf. "And I have you to thank."

"Me and the baby," he corrects, placing a kiss to the top of her head. "The baby. Our baby. I can't believe it. Can you believe it?"

She shakes her head. "Remember that lecture Martha gave us when she caught us in various states of undress? And how she thought it was necessary to bring the issue up with my mother? Look at us proving them all wrong and you not knocking me up until after we're married."

"So proud of us," he laughs, high fiving her. "But that lecture is not something I need to be reminded of. Ever."

Kate smirks, nudging him with her elbow. "I think it went something like 'I know you and Katherine are very infatuated with each other, but -'"

"Please stop before I tackle you back down to the ice."

"I'm carrying your child, you will do no such thing."

"Fine, I'll aim for the snow bank then. Softer landing."

She pulls on his scarf, guiding his mouth back down to hers. "Merry Christmas Eve, Rick," she mumbles against his lips. "Thank you again for finding your way back into my life."


	4. New Year's Eve

Her first New Year's Eve without him had also been the last New Year's with her mother. The world around her had been so ready to embrace the new year and everything it had to offer. They'd all been filled with a renewed since of hope that this year was finally going to be "their year." Their year for love and money and happiness.

But 19-year-old Kate Beckett had not been ready for the new year. She'd been too busy missing her best friend and fighting with her mother. Something that would inevitably come to haunt her nine days later when she learned that she would never get to utter a single word to her mother again and that her best friend was still nowhere to be found.

And that was how her wish making started. When she was 20 and the clock struck midnight on the new year, she found herself wishing that her dad would get over his alcoholism this year. That she could maybe at least have one parent back if she couldn't have them both.

She can't place the exact year that her wishes started to become about Rick. Perhaps it was as early as 22, when she had no one to kiss at midnight at the party she had been roped into going to. And she was feeling lonely and sorry for herself, missing the one guy who had always been there for her...until he wasn't. Perhaps it was a couple of years later, when she witnessed one of her friends get engaged during that very first minute of the new year. When that feeling started to form in her gut that she would never find anyone like that for her. That she would never be more than a cop chasing the ghost of her mother's murder, pushing away everyone who tried to get close to her.

But she does remember the year that wish finally changed. How after years of wishing he'd just come back into her life, he'd appeared in her laundry room. And how, despite her best efforts to fight it, she'd wished for them to fall in love all over again on that particular midnight.

And now that she has him, now that his ring is on her finger and the early stages of their wedding planning has begun, she no longer knows what to wish for. For the first time in a long time, she's genuinely happy, and actually looking forward to a brand new year.

* * *

 _Two Years Later_

He finds her out on the balcony, away from the party, the tiny flakes from the gentle snowfall clinging to her hair and coat. He slips his arms around her waist, his hands coming to rest over her stomach, still too enthralled with her pregnancy news.

"Making your annual wish?" Rick asks, burying his nose against the scarf at her neck.

"Wishing for alcohol right now is bad right?" she asks softly. "Because if I can drink, it means I've lost the baby?"

His chin falls to her shoulder. "Kate, is everything okay with -"

"The baby is fine," she tells him, nudging his head with her own. "As far as I can tell. Just craving champagne more than usual this year is all."

"I can drink enough for the both us if you tell me what's bothering you," he suggests, attempting to lighten the mood.

"I don't see how you getting drunk on champagne is going to help me."

"Well it leaves less available for you to drink and umm -"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she laughs lightly.

Rick readjusts his head on her shoulder. "You know, being a red wine lover like you are, I didn't think you were that big of a fan of champagne. It's a lot closer to whites in taste. Is there a reason for this craving?"

She hesitates like she wants to say something, but isn't quite sure how to phrase it. She shakes her head, letting out a sigh as a response.

"Hey, it's okay if you don't want to talk about whatever it is," he assures her. "But if you do, I'm always willing to listen."

She maintains her silence a little while longer, the falling snow starting to pick up its speed around them.

"I don't know how to do this without her." Her voice is quiet, thick with the onset of tears.

He realizes immediately that this is about Johanna. That despite her learning how to cope with this time of year and actually enjoy it again, the thought of bringing a baby into this world without the support system of her mother is starting to get to her. And he knows his wife too well to know that platitudes like "you still have your father" or "my mother will be more than happy to help with anything you need" will only fall flat to deaf ears. Even his reassurances about his experiences raising Alexis will do nothing to benefit the situation.

"We'll figure it out," he answers lamely, still at a loss. "You're going to make a great mom."

She doesn't say anything, her only movement being the shiver that runs through her.

"Why don't we go back inside?" Rick asks gently. "It's freezing out here and the snow is starting to get worse."

"You know there's probably a million people standing in Times Square right now, waiting to watch the ball drop. And they've been there all day long. Pregnant or not, I think I can stand a couple more minutes out here away from the crowd."

He tightens his arms around her, trying to at least stop her from shivering if her stubbornness is going to keep them out here. She sinks back against him, like she's trying to apologize.

"Kate -"

"I was fine," she keeps talking. "But the closer it gets to midnight, the more I keep thinking about that stupid wish thing and how it all started to begin with. And I just started to feel like I couldn't breathe and I had to get out of there. I know that we're going to be fine. I know that I'm capable of doing this without her. But I don't want to. I didn't want to get married without her at the wedding and now I don't want to have this baby without her at the hospital."

"Well," he starts slowly. "We left an empty chair for her at the ceremony and the reception. We could save her a spot in the waiting room?"

She laughs at that and he finds himself trying to remember what the pregnancy hormones had done to Meredith's emotions. This was normal, right?

"You know what I mean," Kate answers on a sigh.

"I don't actually. You lost me with your vast myriad of emotions over the past ten minutes."

She tugs at his arms to loosen his grip, so she can spin in his embrace to face him. Her hands come up to cup his face as his settle back on her hips.

"To summarize: I miss my mom, I want alcohol, and pregnancy does weird things to my emotions."

"Okay well now that I'm caught up, might I offer up some advice?"

"Go for it," she nods.

"You're allowed to miss your mom. I miss her too, probably not in the same way, but I do. You don't have to make a wish every New Year's just because you've been doing it since you were 20. You're at a good place in your life right now, and to my knowledge, you don't need anything to change. If you still really want to make a wish, wish for a healthy baby. I again offer my services to drink your share of champagne for you. And as long as you don't start hitting me, I think I can handle the mood swings."

"You've done this before, haven't you?" she asks, burrowing into his chest.

"The pregnant wife thing? Yes, yes I have."

Kate shakes her head against his chest. "No, I mean talking me down from a freak out. Didn't need the reminder that I'm number two."

He hears the teasing in her voice, but has the need to reassure her none-the-less. "Hey now, I loved you first. Don't forget that."

"How could I ever? Unless you and Meredith were sharing juice boxes in Kindergarten before I met you."

"Oh close, but it was actually animal crackers in third grade."

She lifts her head to look up at him.

"You know I'm kidding, right?"

"Yes," she replies, finding a way to slip her hands into his coat pockets.

"You're freezing. Let's go inside."

"In a minute," she mumbles against the lapel of his coat.

"Why are you so fascinated with being out here tonight?"

"Nothing to do with being out here. Everything to do with being alone with you."

"Hey, I thought you wanted to come to this party," Rick says, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I did, but -"

"It is far too early in our relationship for us to become one of those couples who stay at home all the time and never go out and socialize."

"I think you need to reevaluate your definition of the word early."

He smirks, making another attempt to nudge her back inside. "If you want to leave, we can."

"At five til midnight? I'm not ringing in the New Year in the back of some cab."

"Well I don't think I can last another five minutes standing out here in the snow."

"Wuss," she smirks back, finally pushing past him back into the building.

The warmth of the building is welcoming as he follows his wife back over to the coat racks. He helps her out of hers, taking a moment to marvel at the way her dress accentuates his um..favorite features.

"You still gonna look at me like that when I'm fat?"

He shakes his head, trying to knock away his dirty thoughts.

"Not fat, honey," he corrects. "Pregnant with our child. And yes. I will always look at you like this."

She tosses him a look full of skepticism, before leading him back out onto the dance floor. Some upbeat pop song is playing as the crowd dances away the remaining minutes of the year.

"So what do you think?" Rick asks, twirling her around. "Are you ready to take on another year together?"

"It's going to be a pretty big one," Kate laughs as he twirls her into a dip. "Come September we won't be able to sleep anymore."

"Hey, Alexis was very good about sleeping through the night pretty early on."

"Yeah, but, Babe? She doesn't have any of me in her."

"Good point," he nods, pulling her back against his chest. "Better sleep while we can."

She hums, curling into his side as the music dies away and people start counting down the remaining seconds until midnight. As soon as the clock strikes 12, the room erupts into cheers as _Auld Lang Syne_ starts playing. She pulls him in for a kiss, lingering against his lips.

"Wanna know what I wished for?" Kate whispers in his ear.

"Doesn't that make them not come true or is that only for birthday wishes?"

She ignores his commentary, telling him anyway. "I wished that our kid never has to make New Year's wishes. That they're happy and they don't lose either of us until we're - oh I don't know - 90."

Rick leans in to kiss her again. "That's a good wish, Kate. Really good."

"Don't leave me until we're 90, okay?"

"While I know writing is a very dangerous profession, Detective Beckett over here -"

"Rick."

He stops, moving his hands up to cup her face. "I won't die if you won't."

She smiles, leaning into his touch. "Is that _your_ New Year's wish?"

"For you to be careful on the job? Yeah, yes it is."

"Then consider it done"

"Good," he smiles, leaning in to kiss her once more. "Happy New Year, Kate. Here's to making it the best one yet."


	5. Valentine's Day

On February 1st, he gets out of the shower to find a Post-It note stuck to the mirror.

 _Don't plan anything for Valentine's Day. I've got this._

He chuckles to himself, pulling the note off of the glass. He knows how she feels about his grand gestures for holidays. She pretends to hate them, always has, but deep down he knows she loves them. If she didn't he would stop.

But this year, or well for this holiday at least, it looks like she wants to try her hand at his game. He's already bought her a necklace, but he will do no more and let her handle the rest. This Valentine's Day, he's ready to be the one who gets wooed.

* * *

She's already out of bed by the time he wakes up. He stretches, catching a glimpse of glitter out of the corner of his eye. Rick sits up to further inspect the source of glitter and finds a handmade Valentine resting on her pillow. One that bears a remarkable resemblance to the one he made her when they were kids. He picks it up, noticing that she even wrote him a poem, just like he had done for her all of those years ago.

 _Roses are red,_

 _Violets are blue,_

 _I'm not very good at rhyming._

 _How about you?_

 _On this day,_

 _February Fourteen,_

 _Take a journey with me,_

 _That started way back when we were pre-teens_

"You laughing at my poem?"

Rick looks up to find her standing in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. He keeps laughing, re-reading the poem for the third time.

"Leave the writing to me, Kate."

She grumbles, crawling back into bed with him. "Like your poetry is any better. I can whip out the one from 5th grade for proof."

"Yeah, but I was ten when I wrote that. What's your current excuse?"

She mutters under her breath again, snatching the Valentine out of his hands. "Be nice to me or else this crappy poem will be all that you get today."

He laughs again, reaching over to her side of the bed and pulling her up against his chest.

"I love your crappy poem. And it certainly has me intrigued. What kind of journey do you have planned for the day?"

Kate hums, a mischievous look gracing her features as she looks up at him. "In 5th grade you made me a glittery heart-shaped poem. What'd you do in 6th grade?"

He thinks for a moment, trying to separate the years. "I wanted to buy you chocolate, but my mother convinced me that if I made you something, like cupcakes, it would mean more. So she helped me bake them, and then all but one of them fell on the floor."

She grins, pulling away from him and reaching down to pick something up from beside the bed. She hands him a plate holding a single cupcake covered in heart-shaped sprinkles.

"Did you ceremoniously drop the rest of the batch on the floor?"

She shakes her head, laughing. "No, they're in the kitchen. But if you have the need to waste more perfectly good desserts..."

"You plan to recreate all of our Valentine's Days don't you?" Rick asks, peeling back the wrapper on his cupcake.

"Maybe."

"Touché, Kate Beckett. I'm equally excited and disappointed that I didn't think of this myself. Although our virginity might be a little hard to get back."

She rolls her eyes at him. "Please, I don't need to relive that. You can do so much better now."

"But in the spirit of Valentine's Day past -"

She pokes him in the chest, cutting him off. "I am not above getting off without your help."

"As long as I get to watch."

She groans, smacking his shoulder. "Finish your cupcake. We have to go relive 7th grade."

"All right, 7th grade, let me think," Rick starts, licking the frosting from his fingers. "Our first school dance? You were upset that the jerk you used to have a crush on didn't ask you."

"And so you offered to dance with me instead."

"I'm a gentleman like that," he shrugs. "So what, are we going to go dance to 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' in the living room?"

That mischievous grin of hers is back as she scoots her way back off of the bed. "Not quite."

* * *

"What did you do?" Rick asks slowly as he stares up at the building that used to be their Middle School.

"Come on," Kate replies, tugging him towards the doors that lead into the school gym.

"Isn't this breaking and entering?" he asks as he trails behind her. "Detective, what probable cause do you have for entering these premises?"

"What I have is a janitor who owes me a favor and agreed to keep the gym unlocked for me. Besides it's not like it's a school day. No one will be here but us."

She pushes open the door to reveal the gym has been decorated much like it had been for their school dance all of those years ago. Red and pink steamers and heart-shaped balloons. There even appears to be heart-shaped confetti tossed about on the floor.

"Did you do all of this?" he asks in awe.

"Wish I could take credit, but all I did was ask to keep the decorations from this year's dance up for one more day." He watches her saunter over to the sound system. "Any requests? Or is your heart set on 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' now?"

"Do they even have 80's music?" Rick asks, walking over to join her. "Or is it all that bubblegum pop Alexis likes to listen to?"

"Well it looks like we have some Cyndi Lauper. Or um oh The Blue Pills. Alexis likes them, right?"

"Go with Cyndi," he laughs. "We can always slow dance to 'Time After Time.'"

She laughs too, queuing up the song before dragging him out to the center of the gym. She snakes her hands around his neck as his hands slip around her waist.

"You know, I think the chaperones are going to yell at us for not keeping space between us," he whispers into her ear as they sway in time with the music.

"You already knocked me up, I don't think separating us is going to help much."

He laughs into her hair, pulling her closer as the music swells. "Thank you for this. It's pretty magical."

She kisses down his jaw line until her lips meet his.

"I didn't kiss you until the summer after 8th grade," he mumbles against her lips.

"Never said I was aiming for exact replicas."

And then she kisses him until long after the song has morphed into 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.'

* * *

"Why don't I remember 8th grade Valentine's Day?" Rick asks her over lunch.

"We were fighting," she responds, twirling her straw around in her water glass. "See, I don't know if you remember this, but you sort of had a crush on me."

He smirks at her, playing along. "Did I?"

"Yeah. And I kept coming to you, wanting to talk about my latest crush, and I think you just got fed up that it was never you."

"You were very annoying," he nods.

Kate reaches for his hand across the table, twining their fingers together. "Funny how life works out, isn't it?"

"I'm just glad I got the girl in the end."

She smiles. "Okay go ahead. Here's your window."

He looks at her confused. "My window for what?"

"In 9th grade you bought me jewelry. It was cheap and broke after a month. But I figured that even with me telling you not to plan anything for this year, you still would. So I refrained from buying you cheap jewelry."

He narrows his eyes at her, pulling the necklace out of his coat pocket. "You know me far too well for your own good."

She waggles her eyebrows at him as she opens the jewelry box. It's a simple diamond necklace with a setting that's almost identical to her engagement ring.

"Rick," she breathes. "I love this."

"Figured you might. Guess I also know _you_ far too well."

* * *

They stroll back out onto the sidewalk after lunch, and pass by a street vendor selling flowers.

"You going to buy me flowers too since that was my present to you in 10th grade?"

"Another one I thought I'd leave up to you," Kate teases as she watches him buy her a bouquet.

She inhales the scent of the roses as they keep walking.

"All right, so we're up to 11th grade. The year we officially lost our virginity."

"Officially?" she asks with a smirk.

"Well we came pretty close to doing it several times before that. We just always got interrupted."

"Still mortified about Martha walking in on us. I will never be over that."

He shakes his head, like he's trying to clear away the memory. "And I mean we did...other stuff."

"Ah yes, our subtle attempts at using a blanket to hide what our hands were really doing while we watched movies. We were such horny little teenagers. This does explain why all the blankets in the living room go missing when Alexis has her boyfriend over though."

"Wait, she told you they're dating? I was only told that they're friends. Kate -"

"Relax," she tells him, touching his arm. "That's all they are. For now."

"For now? Kate -"

"We started out as friends. That's all I'm saying."

Rick mutters something under his breath and she has to lace their fingers together to get his attention back.

"I'm saving 11th grade and the new lingerie I bought for later. We're going to skip to 12th grade right now."

"Senior year," he starts, clucking his tongue. "Wasn't that when I -"

He stops when they turn the corner and come face to face with a large cut out of himself promoting _Naked Heat_ in the window of a bookstore.

"It's when you wrote your first story about me. Or shared it with me anyway. Who knew I'd become the subject of your next best-seller?"

"You've always been an excellent muse."

"And _you_ have always been an excellent writer," she tells him, straightening the collar on his shirt. "So now to balance out my crappy little poem, I think we should have some Nikki Heat story time, don't you?"

"Interesting choice in foreplay," Rick smirks, following her into the bookstore. "Don't be surprised later when I start calling you Nikki in bed."


	6. St Patrick's Day

AN: Hopping around with the timeline a bit here. In this chapter, they're back to being engaged.

* * *

"What the hell is that?"

Kate stares at the green liquid Rick has plopped down on her desk in front of her, unsure if he wants her to drink it or file a lawsuit against whatever company produced it.

"It's green beer. In honor of today being St. Patrick's Day and all. You've met my family of redheads, you must be aware that I've got some Irish in me." He glances over at Ryan who is decked out in varying shades of green. "Although not as much as he has."

"I'm at work," she reminds him gently. "I can't drink alcohol while I'm on the job."

He glances down at his watch. "Fine, drink some in 15 minutes when you get off. It's been a slow day case wise. You should be able to get out of here on time for once."

"Get out of here and do what? Drink beer that looks moldy?"

He rolls his eyes at her. "It isn't moldy. But if you find it so repulsive we can go somewhere like an Irish Pub and find you something better to drink. Oh and we missed Pi day earlier this week, we should find some pie.."

Kate smirks at him. "I'm not even Irish."

Rick smiles at her. "Doesn't matter. A drinking holiday is a drinking holiday and it's also the start of the weekend. When was the last time you let Rebel Bex come out and play anyway?"

She narrows her eyes at him. "College."

"Well then, this is long overdue."

"Maybe I like keeping her hidden away. Keeps my cop reputation intact. Or something."

"Now you're just making excuses."

"Hey, if you don't want to drink that when our work day is done," Ryan starts, sidling up to her desk. "I will happily take that off of your hands."

"See? Ryan gets it," Rick says. "Tell her to come out drinking with me after work."

"Go get drunk with your fiancé," he says flatly before turning back to Rick. "There, how was that?"

"You're a lot of help," Rick grumbles.

"Why _do_ you want to get me drunk so badly?" Kate asks, eyeing the green beer again.

"Because," he starts slowly. "We're getting married in two months and I've never even seen you drunk. The wine coolers in high school do not count."

She laughs, nearly snorting. "This is what you're concerned about? That I'll be a mean drunk or something?"

He shoots her a look. "Are you?"

She shoots him a look right back. "No."

"All right then prove it."

She smirks at him, raising an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

"Don't get into a drinking contest with her, bro," Esposito warns, joining them all around her desk. "She can take you."

"I'd like to see her try," Rick taunts.

"Oh it is so on," she says, standing up and extending her hand to shake. "Winner gets to pick the song for our first dance since we've been arguing about it for weeks now."

Rick shakes her hand. "Get used to the idea of Springsteen, honey."

* * *

He really should've listened to Esposito. This woman can hold her liquor. Getting her drunk tonight is going to take a lot more than he thought, and he's already starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.

"What do you say, babe, another tequila shot? We can get you the training wheels if they're getting to be too much," Kate taunts.

She can drink straight tequila. No salt. No lime. Just downs the shot and moves on. And she's trying to kill him.

"I'm getting sadder and sadder that I missed your college years," he mumbles motioning for the bartender to bring them another round.

"You didn't miss much. Trust me. I stayed away from drinking for a while after watching what it was doing to my dad. But then some friends talked me into going out for my 21st...guess I learned how to handle it after that."

"End up with a lot of good drunk stories during those years? I mean come on, you're totally killing me here. I take back what I said about Springsteen; I fold. But you must have had a crazy night or two, right?"

Kate winces. "No."

Rick narrows his eyes at her. "I may be borderline drunk right now, but you're lying."

She downs the next shot placed in front of her, avoiding his eyes. He glances at the tequila next to him and grimaces, offering it to her instead. She takes it, shaking her head as she places the shot glass back on the bar.

"Okay, I'm done. No more tequila. I thought this was an Irish holiday anyway? Why aren't we drinking Baileys or Guinness instead?"

"You were trying to out drink me," he points out. "And you won. Okay so back to this wild night in college you seem to be avoiding."

"Maybe we should order something Irishy. Bartender!"

He puts his hand on her knee, bringing her attention back to him. "Kate."

She hesitates, starting to gnaw on her lower lip. "Don't hate me."

Okay well now that piques his interest. "Hate you? Why would I -"

"I almost got married in Vegas."

Rick blanches. Definitely not what he was expecting to come out of her mouth. At all. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Tequila," she groans. "Tequila is very bad."

"I can't tell if this comment is directed at this moment or at your previous fiancé."

She scrubs a hand over her face. "I got sick at the chapel and so it didn't happen. Thankfully. I just wonder if I'd had a few shots less of tequila, if we actually would have gone through with it."

"I'm surprised you can still drink tequila after that."

"As am I."

Rick eyes their empty shot glasses lining the bar. "If I get a few more in you, can we ditch this whole planning a wedding thing and elope?"

She groans and shoves him. "Nice try, but not gonna happen."

He chuckles to himself, watching as the bartender brings them each a glass of Guinness he completely missed her ordering.

"You're not even Irish," he points out her earlier remark, amused at her insistence to celebrate 'properly.'

"I'm also not even drunk. Intoxicated? Yes. But that drunk Rebel Bex you're aiming for isn't quite here yet."

He laughs at that watching her reach for her beer, still wondering what exactly he's setting himself up for here. They fall into a comfortable silence as she nurses her drink, listening in on the conversations around them. Half the bar patrons already seem to be drunk off their asses and it's nowhere near closing time. Rick finally reaches for his own beer to take a swig, focusing his attention back on Kate.

"Did you love him?"

He finds that he has to tell himself that it would be okay if she did. He got married and had a child in their time apart after all. But the alcohol does not help with his jealous tendencies.

"Who? Vegas guy?"

He nods.

She shakes her head. "No."

"Please tell me you at least knew the guy."

Kate laughs. "Yes, we were dating. And it was...serious. And maybe back then, on that night especially, I thought I loved him. But love is what I feel for you, and I did not feel this way about him."

His hand finds its way to her knee again, his fingers gently stroking over her patella. "I stole a police horse once. Naked."

Her eyes widen. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I haven't told you that story?" he laughs. "Well that's about all there is to it. If you ever look up my arrest record though that's what you'll find."

"I'm marrying a wild man," she shrugs. "Someone warn my dad."

Rick laughs again. "I think Jim already knows."

"He knows you stole a police horse?"

"Not what I meant," he says, narrowing his eyes at her.

She hums, downing the remnants of her beer. She drank hers a lot faster than he has. Of course she's now purposely trying to get drunk. He, on the other hand, is not. He wants to enjoy the full effects of drunk Beckett, without being clouded by his own drunkenness. After all, they have the rest of their lives to get drunk together. _If_ they don't decide that they're getting too old for it...

"You know what, after this we should get pizza," Kate says, placing her empty glass back on the bar. "You said something about pie earlier, right? Well they call it pizza pie in some places. I think. Don't they?"

He smirks at her. There's that alcohol starting to kick in.

"Wow, you ramble when you're drunk."

"I don't even think I'm that drunk. Okay, but I think we should go to Ray's. The original one. Although no one can ever agree on which location is the original one, so whichever we see first is fine. We did eat dinner, right? ...Yeah okay we already did that."

"I don't think I've ever seen you talk this much," he starts laughing. "Or this fast."

"Yeah I've been told that happens. To me anyway. Although I'm sure it also happens to other people. It must. It would be strange if it was just me. You know if you hadn't stopped matching me shot for shot, you could also be talking this fast right now."

He shakes his head, still laughing. "That - no. I haven't been told I do that."

"You just steal things while naked apparently. Which is probably not as common as the word vomit. Or the weddings in Vegas even."

"I don't get naked and steal things every time I get drunk," Rick protests. "The two aren't mutually exclusive."

"So then which is it? Do you always try to steal things or do you always end up naked?"

"I'm not - answering that."

"Interesting," she says, nodding. "So about that pizza."

She proceeds to talk about pizza for around five minutes, somewhere in between ordering a shot with Baileys in it to 'top off the night.' And then she practically drags him out of the bar, beyond determined to find said pizza.

Definitely not a mean drunk. Just an adorable, hungry one.

* * *

He hears her start to stir next to him with an irritated groan and some mumbling that sounds like she wants him to turn down the sun. He definitely has a hangover from the tequila shots, but he assumes hers is much worse.

"How's it going?" Rick asks teasingly.

"Coffee," she says, opening one eye to look at him. "I need coffee."

He passes her the extra mug from the nightstand he brought in for her. Figured the smell of it brewing would wake her like it usually does. He'd been right.

"It's still hot," he tells her.

Kate sits up with a groan, taking it from him appreciatively and pushing her hair out of her face.

"I knew there was a good reason why I don't drink tequila anymore," she mumbles, inhaling the scent of the coffee. "Why did you think letting me get drunk was a good idea, again?"

"I'd never seen it," he shrugs with a smirk.

She squints at him, sinking back against the headboard. "Did I actually out drink you or did you just stop?"

"I conceded. The tequila was too much for me. I gave up on trying to keep up."

"Ha!" she exclaims and then immediately winces. "Maybe we should go with some Cyndi Lauper. Match our Valentine's Day dance."

"What is your sudden obsession with her?"

Kate starts to laugh and then winces again, taking a sip of coffee in return.

"Oh come on Rick, you know I can do better than that."

He shakes his head, reaching for his own coffee mug. "I may be slightly concerned that this decision falls entirely in your hands."

"You're the one who bet on it."

"Yes, but I thought I would win."

She smiles, rubbing at her temple with her free hand. "This hangover better be worth the accomplishment."

"Oh, I have a feeling it will be."


End file.
